More than a team
by kammybale
Summary: Something is bothering Kuroko, so Seirin decides to find out what.
1. Chapter 1

**Kammy: Hello everyone! Welcome to a new story \(^.^)/**

**Bale: We hope that you will enjoy!**

**Together: Disclaimer: We don't own anything from Kuroko no Basuke except this story.**

Chapter 1: distracted

Seirin knew something was wrong with Kuroko that day. He seemed distracted by something. His passes were sloppy, his footing was off, and the glimmer they saw in his eyes whenever he played seems to have dissapeared.

"Eh, Kuroko, are you okay?" asked Kagami. "Hm? Of course I am Kagami-kun," said the phantom player. He felt unsure of the Phantom player's reply. He could tell something was wrong, but he didn't know what. The team felt the same way, even Nigou, who tilted his head at his master's reply.

"Hey, Kuroko, you can tell us if something's bothering you," said Kiyoshi, worried for his kouhai. "... Nothing's wrong, Kiyoshi-senpai," he answered in his monotone voice.

When practice was over, the team had a private meeting after Kuroko left with Nigou. "Something is obviously wrong with Kuroko today," said Riko. The team nodded in agreement. "Yeah, did you see his playing style, something seemed to be bothering him," said Izuki, who couldn't even think of a pun to lighten the mood. "... Mitobe says he doesn't think Kuroko will tell us what's bothering him since he usually keeps thing to himself, right?" said Koganei translating for the ever silent Mitobe.

"He seems distracted in classes too. I always find him staring out the window instead of taking notes like he usually does," said Kagami. The other first years said that they noticed that he was acting stranger than usual as well.

The team wondered what could be the cause of their teammate's odd behavior. "Maybe, he's being bullied," suggested Tsuchida. The others thought about it for a while before Hyūga said, "No, that can't be it. His low presence would make it hard for bullies to notice him."

"Maybe he doesn't feel well," suggested Koganei. "Nope, he seemed perfectly fine this morning. Plus, he didn't show any sign of weakness or fatigue," replied Riko.

They thought some more, but couldn't think of anything. "*sigh* Why does he have to be so difficult?" complained Seirin's ace. Suddenly, Riko had an idea.

"Why don't we follow Kuroko? Maybe we could find out what's bothering him."

"..." *awkward silence*

"Eh? Isn't that stalking?" exclaimed the team. "It's for a good cause," responded the coach as if it was perfectly normal to stalk a person who seemed troubled. "It's not like he'll tell us what's bothering him anyway. Besides, do any one of you idiots have a better idea?" said the coach of Seirin, glaring at the team. The others shook their heads in defeat. So they left the gym and searched for Kuroko.

**Kammy: Yay! We hope you enjoyed this chapter! {w}**

**Bale: Reviews are always welcome!**


	2. Chapter 2: the park

**Kammy: Hi everybody! Thank you to all the readers of this story! Yay! XD**

**Bale: So, let's move on to the next chapter.**

N Chapter 2: the park

The team finally found Kuroko with Nigou leaving Maji Burger with a vanilla milkshake on hand. They secretly followed him as he headed to who knows where. Whenever it looked like he was about to look back, they hid themselves behind trees, buildings, people, cars, and almost anything they could find.

It was also hard to follow the Phantom player without hiding. His low presence made it hard to keep track of him whenever he seemed to disappear within the crowd.

"Ugh, why does he have to keep disappearing like that?" complained Kagami. "This is like the tenth time we lost him this afternoon," added Furihata. "Hey, I think I just saw him in the park," informed Izuki. Quickly, they all ran into the park.

When they got there, they searched for him until they found him in a basketball court. They watched as Kuroko played basketball by himself. He still played sloppy, and it seemed that he had been playing for a while since he was sweating.

After some time, they found him sitting on a bench. He had a towel around his neck and was drinking a bottle of water. They noticed he was staring at something. They looked at the direction he was staring at and saw a family.

There was a little boy who was holding the hands of both of his parents. He laughed whenever they would lift him up in the air. The parents smiled when they saw their son laugh. They could see that Kuroko never took his eyes off the happy family until they were out of sight.

When the family left, Kuroko was still staring at where the family was. Even though his face didn't show any emotion, they could see the sad and distant look in his eyes. They wondered why he seemed sad after looking at the smiling faces of the family. After a few minutes, the teal head sighed to himself and he left the park with Nigou by his side.

They tried to go find him once again as he disappeared into the crowd. They searched for hours, but could not find him. As the sky got darker, the team gave up and decided to check on Kuroko tomorrow.

**Bale: Sorry if it was too short...**

**Kammy: See you guys in the next chapter! :D**


	3. Chapter 3: call

**Kammy: Hi everybody! Hurrah for the new chapter. \./ **

**Bale: Yeah, she's just very excited... Enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter 3: call

During the next practice, they could see that Kuroko was playing better than yesterday. Even though he was playing better, he still seemed to be distracted from time to time. He assured everyone that he was fine.

This went on for days and days, and always insisted that he was okay. They could see that, physically, he was decided to drop the subject and stopped pestering him with their questions, but still occasionally gave him a worried glance.

Some time later, the Seirin team realized that it was almost Kuroko's birthday. They all decided to eat out later that day and try to find out what the Phantom player would want for his birthday.

After practice, they all were about to leave school when Kagami suddenly said, "Hey, Kuroko's not here!" They all looked around making sure that it wasn't his lack of presence that made it seem like he wasn't there. After they realized that he really wasn't with them, Kiyoshi suggested that maybe he was still in the locker room.

Sure enough, Kuroko was there in the corner of the room. They were about to approach him when they heard him talking to his phone. Curious, they all strained their ears to listen to the conversation behind the lockers.

".. Yes, I'm fine... Of course I'm doing well in school... Yes, the team great and their treating me well... How are you and dad?...That's nice to hear... Will you be home any time soon..._oh_... No, it's okay... I know you're both busy... don't worry, I understand... You don't have to worry about it... I know...okay...I miss you both too...bye."

They could hear a sad tone in his voice near the end of his conversation. As Kuroko approached their direction, they all pretended to be doing something. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting," said the small teen, bowing in apology. "Eh, don't worry about it Kuroko, it's fine," said Hyūga.

As they left, they couldn't help but notice the disappointed look in his eyes. At the restaurant, he barely ate any food. They already knew why, so they planned another meeting the next day.

**Both: See you guys later!**


	4. Chapter 4: preparations

**Bale: Hi, it's nice to see you again!**

**Kammy: On to the new chapter :D**

Chapter 4: Preparations

Seirin secretly met in the weekend to discuss about their troubled Phantom player. "Okay, it is now clear why Kuroko has been acting so strange," said Riko. "Yeah, I can't believe his own parents can't come to their own son's birthday," said Kagami.

The others nodded in agreement. When they thought about it, they never even met his parents. Whenever they asked where his parents were, he would always say that they were busy.

They wondered how alone Kuroko must have been all this time. They remembered how awkward he felt whenever they offered him something, or gave him recognition for playing well.

They didn't want to imagine how many times the teal head needed his parents only having to take care of himself in the end during their absence. Kagami and the others remembered how _they_ were the ones to take care of a sick Kuroko, where they also found out on how _terrified_ the smaller teen was to be alone again.**

They pitied the poor boy for being alone for so long. They didn't even know what their friend could have went through, confused and lost without a parent's guidance. "I can't even imagine how long he's been by himself," said Kiyoshi.

They could still recall the small sign of hope in the tone of his voice when he asked if his parents would return, and the crestfallen look on the boy's face after knowing that his parents couldn't come home. They didn't want to think of the many birthdays he had to spend alone.

"Well, if his parents can't be there for him, then we will," exclaimed Kagami. The rest of the team agreed. They don't want to see their friend so sad and lonely anymore. He was always there for them, now it's their turn to return the favor. They wanted to let Kuroko know that he could depend on them.

So the Seirin team planned on making the best surprise party for their teammate and friend.

**referring to "Sick Day"

**Kammy: We apologize if this was too short...(T.T)**

**Bale: We'll try to make it longer next time.**


	5. Chapter 5: thank you

**Kammy: So here it is, the last chapter! :)**

**Bale: Thanks for all the readers of this story.**

**Both: We hope you will all enjoy!**

Chapter 5: Thank you

Kuroko has been noticing how odd the team has been acting. He would usually find them in groups, and whenever he asks them what they're talking about, they first jump in surprise and act really awkward, usually stuttering whenever they tried to answer him.

They usually gave odd answers too. When he found some of his upperclassmen in the supermarket huddled together, they told him they were having an argument about fruits and vegetables products. When he saw the other first years in the library, they told him they were working on a school project about pigs.

Even Kagami seemed busier than usual. They haven't eaten in Maji Burger for a while. Kagami would always make excuses and say that he was busy.

Kuroko didn't really know why everyone was suddenly busy. He usually found himself alone after school. Whenever he tries to go with a teammate, the response was always the same, "Sorry, I'm too busy with something. Maybe next time."

_Why is everyone avoiding me? Did I do something wrong?_ Kuroko often found himself asking these questions when he reached his home. He felt sad thinking he was the reason why they were all too busy.

It was lonely at home too. His parents were rarely at home because they were too busy at work. They started working like that ever since his father lost his first job when he was younger. His grandmother used to stay with them to take care of him, but that was until she had to move back to her hometown to take care of her sister when he was at middle school.

This went on for a while, and he felt lonelier everyday.

One day, while he was playing at a basketball court with Nigou watching him, his phone started ringing. He checked it and found a message from Kagami. It said that he needed to Immediately get to his house for a meeting with Seirin. He wondered what the meeting was about as he walked to the red head's house with Nigou following him.

"Okay, he's on his way," informed Kagami to the rest of the Seirin team. They patiently waited until Koganei said that he could see him coming. They quickly turned off the lights and got to their places.

Kuroko knocked on the door, but there was no response. "Hello?," asked the Phantom player as he slowly opened the door. "SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KUROKO!" said the Seirin team in unison as the lights turned on. There was a banner saying "Happy Birthday", a birthday cake in the center of several presents, and a smile from everyone.

The Seirin team was shocked when they saw a tear fall from one of his eyes. Did they really make him feel _that_ bad for avoiding him? They panicked when they saw more tears fall. "Eh, K-Kuroko-kun, don't cry," said Riko. We're sorry for leaving you alone, it's just that we wanted you to have a great birthday," Kagami quickly added.

"...y-you did this..._f-for me_?" stuttered the teal head, as he tried to wipe his tears away. "Of course we did, it's what friends do, right?" said Kiyoshi. They were surprises once again when they saw a genuine smile on Kuroko's face. "Thank you. Thank you everyone," said Kuroko, the smile still on his face.

They spent the rest of the day celebrating the teal head's birthday. In the end of the day, Kuroko knew they were more than a team. _They were a family._

**Bale: So, this is the end of the story..**

**Kammy: Yay for Seirin and Kuroko! \(w)/**

**Both: We hope you all enjoyed the story!**


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